Wednesday, December 27, 2006 9:59 PM
our server was affected by the earthquake! so there are many sites that i can't get into now. including many people's blogs. ohwells, my bad luck i guess. i have a story to share.
after two wondeful years of married life, a special couple was blessed with a little girl. needless to say, they were elated. on a regular afternoon, soon after the girl turned two, her parents found her on the ground of their perfect wall to wall carpeted master bedroom where they had left her to play, her face an eerie shade of blue. panicking, they rushed her to the hospital. she was then diagnosed with asthma, and it was bad.
because of her illness her parents showered her with utmost love and attention. she was the pampered princess in the family. when she complained she was tired, the devoted dad would carry her on his back. when she got even older, and he was unable to carry her physically, but made it a point to drive her to her desired location whenever she asked him too.
she was always the weak kid, exempted from pe and physical tests. regular visits to a specialist and punctual medication was crucial during her growing years. she also developed other health problems along the way. nasal infections, skin problems are some of them. she had a low immune system and was prone to the common cold and other viruses or bacterial infections.
but when she hit her teens, the amount of attention her parents gave her dropped as she learnt how to take care of herself. she did not adjust to this change immediately , and would do silly things to gain her parents' attention once again. she would get into trouble in school on purpose and "forget" to take her medication. she would often complain to and quarell with her parents for no rhyme or reason.
it took countless couselling sessions, encouragement from the people around us and a specially arranged trip to a foreign country to repair this badly damaged relationship with her parents. by the end of 2005, she managed to look at things from a place that was not a child's point of view. unfortunately for the family, the asthma struck again in 2006.
it got pretty bad, such that simple physical activities would leave her panting and wheezing. she got an attack once when she made the critical mistake of forgetting to bring her inhaler along with her when she went to school for an exam. her teachers rushed her to the hospital, and she felt embarassed being so helpless in front of her friends and other school mates. it almost felt as though the inhaler was like her life support.
in the rainy season, an attack was inevitable. she caught a cold, which triggered off the asthma. the inhaler wasn't working and she was panicking. she called her dad, who drove her to the family doctor who put her on the nebulizer. sitting in the cold, empty room she remembered all the other times she had her attacks and realised the people who would always be worried for her no matter where she was in life were her parents. a little girl of about three sat outside the room she was in, watching her intensely as she breathed into the mask, little clouds dancing in front of her face.
i hope that no other little girl would end up sitting in that chair at 16 years of age. its awfully painful even when all other aspects of my life are great. it still hurts to think that i am still so vulnerable after all these years.